College basketball's one-and-done players a cause for concern

Not elite players such as Kentucky’s Anthony Davis, who have to wait a year before earning NBA riches.

Ted Jackson / The Times-Picayune NCAA President Mark Emmert has had discussions with NBA Commissioner David Stern about extending the rule for college basketball players turning pro to two years out of high school, but Emmert offers no specific solutions.

Not NBA Commissioner David Stern, although he was a party to the collective bargaining agreement that prohibits entry into the league until a player turns 19 or a year after his high school class graduates.

Not NCAA President Mark Emmert, who has had discussions with Stern about extending the rule to two years out of high school or doing away with it altogether.

Not college coaches, who sometimes have to deal with losing their best players after a single season.

And not even Kentucky Coach John Calipari, whose mastery of the art is the prime reason the Wildcats are favored to win the national championship Monday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

But nobody, it seems, can come up with a plan that might be an incentive for remaining in college, even though Emmert has labeled some of the one-and-doners “young men … who have little or no interest in going to college.”

Calipari, who has come under fire in some quarters because eight of the 40 one-and-done players since the rule was implemented in 2007 (Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were drafted first and second that year) have played for him at Memphis or Kentucky, has proposed that players deemed good enough to come out after their first year be eligible for insurance provided by the NCAA, along with direct loans to the players and their families.

On the NBA’s end, Calipari would have shorter rookie contracts for those who stay in college for two or more years and a higher initial salary for those who graduate before entering the league.

“We’re talking about 30 kids here,” Calipari said. “Not 500.”

But Emmert, speaking Thursday at the Final Four, shot down Calipari’s idea from the college aspect.

“The whole principle of the collegiate model of athletics is that these are college students who play sports,” he said. “If they want to be professional athletes, those options are available to them. But all of these other things are throwing away the collegiate model of athletics.”

However, Emmert offered no specific solution.

“We’re constantly looking at it,” he said. “We don’t have any clear, strong ideas right know about what to do other than continue to require them to perform high academically and to come in with the skills and abilities to be successful.”

Emmert added his preferred solution was to find ways to make staying in school more attractive. He has championed a $2,000 stipend for all Division I athletes that was sent back to the Division I Board of Directors for further review by the membership after its initial passage.

But that would apply to all.

Emmert also rejects the Olympic model, which would allow college athletes to compete while receiving sponsorship money.

“In the United States at elite levels, there’s fierce competition for recruiting student-athletes,” he said. “If we allowed a sponsorship model such as exists in the Olympics, it’s just entirely possible that Auburn and Alabama – two random examples – might compete over who comes up with the sweetest deal.”

Also Thursday, Emmert again indicated that the NCAA would be a willing party to taking management of the BCS, or what’s left it once the commissioners decide what football’s championship structure will be starting in 2014.

“If they want the NCAA to be involved in any fashion, we’re more than happy to be helpful,” Emmert said.